BRUSSELS/LONDON John Malone's Liberty Global will get unconditional EU clearance for its $15.8 billion (10 billion pounds) bid for Virgin Media, two people familiar with the matter said on Monday, in a move which pits the U.S. billionaire against rival Rupert Murdoch.

"The European Commission does not have any competition concerns about the deal," one of the sources said.

The European Union competition authority is set to announce its decision by April 15. Antoine Colombani, Commission spokesman for competition policy, and Virgin Media declined to comment. A spokesman for Liberty Global was not available for comment.

Malone, Liberty Global's controlling shareholder, clashed with Murdoch, owner of British satellite group BSkyB, a decade ago when they fought for control of U.S. satellite TV broadcaster DirecTV Group.